Treating Mr. Billionaire

~ 17 ~

Maria shook her head immediately. That would only happen in a world where pigs fly or salt blossoms. There was no way she would have met this face of his before and not recognized it. "I'm sorry, no." She denied with a shake of her head again, proving her surety.

"Then I will jog your memory," Justin suggested, his tone serious and his expression thoughtful. "We met once by the roadside, near the bus stop." He started, his fingers tapping against each other.

She folded her arms, still unconvinced, and tilted her head to the side. "Bus stop?"

"Yeah." He confirmed. "The one by the highway. I saw you from my car and you were in a hurry to check your make-up with my window." He recalled fondly. "I think you were wearing a blue dress. You looked really pretty back then like you still do now."

For the first few seconds accompanying his explanation, her brain failed to recollect the mentioned episode, leaving her with nothing but an empty space between her ears. However, slowly, her mind began to process the information and the memories came flooding back. She remembered her first visit to the Stanleys' home, how she had waited by the road for the arranged vehicle and somehow ended up being caught off-guarded while checking out her reflection through the tinted windows of a parked car.

Mari dropped her glass and drove her palms to cover her lips parted with shock. "That-that was you? That-that man?" She stuttered, her voice low with disbelief.

"Yes, I am." He affirmed with a nod and smiled some more at her reaction. "You might not recognize me because of the shades I was putting on though." He added, gesturing to his face with a palm.

She bent her head slightly and rubbed her wet palms on her lap. Her cheeks burnt slightly with embarrassment from the recollected encounter. "What a small world..." She muttered to herself, with her smile darting away from his eyes.

Justin was surprised when she rose, and he took a step back to give her more personal space. She cleared her throat before brightening her face with a small smile.

"I believe fate had purposedly allowed us to meet again so I can amend the bad impression I must have presented towards you the other day." She expressed, her voice light and hopeful. "I apologize for that."

Her words made him chuckle lightly, with his gaze remaining focused on her face. "Bad impression? I honestly cannot see what you are apologizing for, Maria." He responded, his tone amused.

"Oh, well...you know." She shrugged. "It was just that, I mean, you were looking at me like you were annoyed or something."

He blinked a few times, his dark brows lifting up in surprise. "Really? That was what you thought? I was only staring because I couldn't believe someone could be so pretty." He admitted, his tone warm.

She rolled her eyes, yet she could not suppress a grin. "Well, we are good now, right?" She asked, her eyes dancing.

"Why not? We've always been." His green eyes twinkled again when he chuckled. "So, why don't we start over again? I would love to get to know you better." He suggested.

Her brows creased with an uncertain smile. "Um..."

"I have a better idea. Music!" He interrupted with an outburst of excitement that almost startled her, making her blink rapidly. "Dancing could be a fun way to kick off a friendship." He continued and stretched his arm forward, inviting her to take hold of it. "Let's dance, pretty flower." He smiled invitingly, his voice laced with amusement.

Maria stared at his extended hand, her expression doubtful. His offer was quite unexpected and she didn't know how to react. Apart from the fact that she was a terrible dancer, she was still a lot uncomfortable in an environment that felt like everyone was watching and judging her. "Dance?" She questioned with a hesitant tone.

"Sure."

She sighed slowly, preparing the most polite words in declining his offer. Her words were almost out when a different voice from an approaching party succeeded hers.

"Why don't you find yourself someone more willing?" A familiar male voice mocked from behind her, causing her to turn around, and Justin's hand slipped down to his side as he caught the approaching man.

The intruder was no other person than Jayden Stanley himself, his eyes narrowed into slits and his mouth curved with disdain. His figure moved closer to the pair watching him, stopping only between them in a way that blocked their view of each other.

"Mr. Stanley..." Maria uttered uncertainly from where he had successfully blocked her sight. But got ignored by the two men who were already in a staring contest that held so much tension.

Jayden was the first to break the silence, his gaze cold and calculating. "She is my date, look elsewhere." He warned possessively with a low growl.

Maria stiffened when she heard those words, her breath catching in her throat. Why was he sounding as though their relationship for the night was real? Or was he already so deep into character?

"Oh, really?" The other man's voice made her return her focus to their confrontation, and the sound of Justin chuckling made her curious to see his expression, because, somehow, it didn't sound sincere. "Well, then, I guess you should have paid more attention to your date before another guy tried to steal her away." He added, tone mocking, always ready to push the buttons of his business mate.

His words made Jayden's glare darken, his lips thinning into a hard line, remaining silent for a moment before deciding to ignore the comment. "Let's go," his words came out and it took Maria some seconds before realizing they were meant for her when he turned to face her.

Her blue eyes descended when his hand reached out to grab her wrist, pulling her along with him without her opinion needed. She followed him, feeling uneasy as she walked beside him, aware of his presence and the stares of people following them, including Justin.

"I will call you!" Justin called out after them, making her head tilt back in confusion.

Her brows furrowed slightly, her face giving away her thoughts as she failed to remember whenever they had exchanged numbers.

Catching her reaction, the man grinned, "l will get your number someday," he muttered to himself, leaving her guessing what words had slipped from his amused lips, while the third party wondered how far their conversation went to the point of exchanging numbers.

***